Not many ceramics it seems?

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Steve C.

Fire Starter
Original poster
Feb 28, 2021
41
31
Rotonda West, Florida
Retiring my WSM. It's served me well but time to rest it. I've been concentrating on ceramics like the Egg or Vision Icon, but reading the threads, it seems like most here don't use them. Anyone inform me as to why not?
 
I've got a mid price PitBoss 24 Kamado and I don't like the lack of smoke flavor in the meat.
Adding some chunks on top of or in with the lump does not work as well smoked meat flavor wise as an offset stickburner or a Masterbuilt gravity running charcoal with chunks of oak/hickory/pecan added to the charcoal.
The very thing that allows a small amount of fuel to run so long in a Kamado is also what messes up the wood chunk burning.
 
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I have always wanted a Big Green Egg but cost always prohibited it. I can afford one now but the BGE probably would not be my choice. From the reviews I've seen the Kamato Joe or Weber Summit would likely be my choice, hopefully by the end of the year. The plan is having the Weber Performer and WSM go away and I will keep the gasser and whatever Kamato I come up with. I agree with the posts above, more people would use ceramic grills if they didn't cost so dang much.
 
I'm coming up on 20 years as a BGE owner, I have a Large and a Small. I'm in the snow belt so they are the logical choice for winter cooking.
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I like them because I can grill, barbecue, smoke, bake and anything that can be cooked in an oven can be cooked in a ceramic cooker. I even have a wok ring for mine. They have crazy long burn times, I've gone upwards of 20 hours with pit temps in the 250° range. On this overnight cook the temperature dropped to about -20° and the Egg did not miss a beat. I am running an analog BBQ Guru forced draft fan.
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Does a ceramic cooker have the best flavor? No, my BDS drums will win hands down, plus they double as my cold smoker. But I will never be without a ceramic cooker.
 
Well, the ceramic that I'm considering (Vision) has an insert that will change it from wood/charcoal fired to LP which I think would be pretty nice so I'm leaning that way. Think I'll keep the WSM on the side of the house for when I smoke chicken breasts for my wife. I smoke to full racks and vacuum seal them - into the freezer and she slices 'em up for lunch. She loves 'em so.....
 
I’d be embarrassed to tell you how many different smokers I have owned. Trailered stick burners, Electrics, Gas, Charcoal... Never owned the Egg. But I just adopted the Weber Charcoal Summit. It is a Kamado but built with double walled steel. Weber quality. No cracks! Great customer service. I gave my performer to my son. He’s happy! This one does it all. I did just order a Smoking Guru to automate the temp control for it. Can’t say enough about this beast. You might take a look before to go ceramic.
 

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Thanks bdskelly!! No trouble holding temp through cooking say a brisket or butt?
With the Guru it will go all night at 225. Rock steady. Stingy on charcoal use. It is amazing. The down side is that they have become so popular that you will most likely wait 2 to 4 weeks for delivery. Also make note that they have now introduced 2 more Kamado only styles that are about 500 buck less than the summit grill models. Less options and accessories . No issues with long brisket or pork butt smokes.
 
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You can see in my sig I have a BGE, (and have added a ton of goodies). Father's day gift a long time ago. I have cooked a LOT on it, and have said it will be my cremation urn :emoji_wink:

But, I don’t live up north anymore, and things change ... has always been just a bit too small ... so am selling to a friend. I have migrated to the dark side of convenience, and am loving my Smokin-It. But I still have it and already fearing I will miss the charcoal flavor. May be a Weber kettle in my future.

There is no single perfect device, but you can in fact do anything on these, and very economically.
 
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If I wouldn’t have found my kamado used online for such a great price I probably still wouldn’t have one. I was definitely turned off by the price of buying new. However I do really enjoy this cooker and don’t think I could part with it at this point. It’s unbelievably efficient with charcoal usage in all weather conditions. One con of smoking with them is you gotta start early. If you don’t allow and hour to hour in a half to get the ceramics heat soaked before putting on the food, you’ll sometimes spend awhile chasing temps. If you allow enough time, it’ll hold rock solid for 18+ hours with only the daisy wheel and no technology.

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I would recommend checking out the Kamado Joe lineup before you make your decision. I have had my Big Joe for many years now and I really like it, there isn't anything you can't cook on a Kamado.. The main thing to think about when buying a ceramic grill is the warranty. Ceramics can crack from use, so it is important to have a lifetime warranty on the ceramic portion of the grill. The KJ will cost a little more then the BGE initially but when you add everything to the BGE, that comes standard on the KJ, they cost about the same maybe a little less. Another good ceramic grill you should check out is the Primo line.
 
Bear Jr has a Big Green Egg, and another Ceramic (River-Something).
He mostly uses the Green Egg, and he loves it.
I would say like others---It's the price that holds people back.

Bear
 
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